Deep Freeze
"Deep Freeze" is the episode of Batman: The Animated Series. It originally aired on . Plot A large, powerful robot breaks into Arkham Asylum and into Mr. Freeze's cell. He tries to escape, but the robot picks him up and places him inside a compartment in its chest, then leaves as easily as it came. Reviewing the security tape from Freeze's cell, Batman thinks that Freeze's expression of surprise and fear is genuine, meaning someone else is behind his escape. The robot immediately puts Batman in mind of those produced by Cybertron, so he and Robin consult Karl Rossum, who's retired. Rossum says the robot bears a slight resemblance to some benign models he built for Grant Walker, the famous theme park mogul. Walker's latest theme park is Oceania, located on an artificial island a short distance out to sea from Gotham City. There, Walker releases Mr. Freeze from captivity and provides him with a new freezer suit and cold gun, explaining that he's studied Freeze's work closely. Freeze asks Walker what he wants. Walker says that Freeze's condition has slowed his aging process so much that he's practically immortal. Walker, who is elderly and in failing health, wants Freeze to duplicate the accident that caused his condition, and "freeze" Walker into immortality. Freeze refuses, saying his condition is no fit state for any man. Walker reveals his trump card: Nora Fries, alive and still in suspended animation in her cryo-tube. Freeze believed his wife perished in the accident, but Walker explains he was a major investor in Gothcorp, and managed to salvage Nora's tube. Freeze agrees to help Walker in exchange for custody of his wife. Batman and Robin head out to Oceania in the Batboat. It is destroyed by the island's torpedo defense systems, but Batman and Robin manage to eject and make their way to the island. There, they see Walker explaining his larger plans to a group of his followers: he has built a cannon-size version of Freeze's cold gun, with which he plans to freeze Gotham, and then the rest of the world, as he believes it is too corrupt and cruel to survive. Oceania will serve as a utopia for those whom Walker believes worthy to live there. Before they can act, however, Batman and Robin are captured. Freeze successfully duplicates the accident, "freezing" Walker, and places him in a cybernetic suit similar to Freeze's own. Exhilarated, Walker prepares for his strike on Gotham. Freeze disclaims any further interest, saying their deal is finished and he is returning to his wife. As Freeze gazes at Nora's capsule, Batman, who is being held prisoner nearby, appeals to Freeze, saying that Nora couldn't want him to help Walker kill so many innocent people. Freeze relents, and releases the Duo. All three of them attack Walker's command center. The freeze cannon is damaged, and a chain reaction begins that slowly engulfs Oceania in ice. The inhabitants and Walker's scientists evacuate, but Walker is trapped by a wall of ice. Batman and Robin urge Freeze to follow them, but he says he's staying with Nora. To drive his point home, he freezes Robin below the waist, forcing Batman to save his partner rather than go after Freeze. As they escape the island, the ice tears through it and it explodes. Walker regains consciousness under the sea, so thoroughly encased in a block of ice that he cannot move, even with his cybernetic strength. As he realizes where he is, and that his new immortality has trapped him there forever, he lets out a scream that no one can hear. Robin recovers at Wayne Manor, and asks Bruce whether they'll ever see Mr. Freeze again. Batman reflects that, if Freeze really is immortal, it's very possible that they will... Another block of ice drifts under the sea. Inside an air bubble within, Freeze kneels solemnly before his wife's capsule. Background Information Trivia *This episode shares its title with an episode of the 1960's Batman live-action series, also featuring Mr. Freeze. *"Oceania" is also the name of the fictional city in George Orwell's novel 1984, and Walker addresses his followers via a giant television screen, in the same manner as that novel's "Big Brother." *There are several obvious parallels between Grant Walker and Walt Disney: **Walker refers to his theme park designers and builders as his "Visioneers," a reference to Disney's "Imagineers." **Disney's brand of entertainment is often criticized as being too fictionalized, and for trying to impose a sort of "make-believe" atmosphere on the rest of the world, while ignoring or cutting out the bad parts of reality. Likewise, Walker dreams of creating a fascist state free of "bad" things while killing the rest of the world. **Lastly, there is an urban legend that Disney wanted to be cryonically frozen before his death, in order to continue his work. * Grant Walker does not appear again in the animated series. He does appear in several issues of the comic book Batman: Gotham Knights, as the "second Mr. Freeze." In those comics, Walker escapes the ice after several years of imprisonment, an experience which drives him insane, and goes on a rampage, including kidnapping a team of Wayne Enterprises scientists commissioned to find a cure for Freeze's condition. In deleted material meant for issues of Batman: Gotham Adventures, Walker is killed by a robotic doppleganger of Mr. Freeze made by Nora Fries's new husband to frame Victor Fries. Cast Quotes External Links *Episode Review on World's Finest: http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/WF/batman/btas/episodes/deepfreeze/ Category:BTAS episodes